Sulaymaniyah International Airport مطار السليمانية الدولي فڕۆکەخانەی نێودەوڵەتی سلێمانی | |||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Operator | Federal government of Iraq,Kurdistan Regional Government[1] | ||||||||||
| Serves | Sulaymaniyah,Kurdistan Region,Iraq | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 2,492 ft / 760 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 35°33′39″N45°18′52″E / 35.56083°N 45.31444°E /35.56083; 45.31444 | ||||||||||
| Website | sulairport | ||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||
  ISU Location in Iraq | |||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||
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| Statistics (2022) | |||||||||||
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| Source: ICAA,[2] COSIT.[3] | |||||||||||
Sulaymaniyah International Airport (IATA:ISU,ICAO:ORSU) is 14 kilometers west of the city ofSulaymaniyah inKurdistan Region,Iraq. The airport encompasses an approximate area of 13.5 square kilometers. The combined capacity of the airport terminals is currently set at 1.5 million passengers per year and can be expanded to accommodate up to 3 million passengers annually.[4]
In2025,Sulaymaniyah International Airport was officially renamedJalal Talabani International Airport, in honor of the late Jalal Talabani, former President of Iraq and a prominent Kurdish leader. The renaming followed a proposal from the Jalal Talabani Foundation, and was approved by the Iraqi Council of Ministers and Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani. This gesture recognizes Talabani’s long political career, his role in Iraq’s post-Saddam era, and his contributions to Kurdish and Iraqi unity.[5]
Following theremoval of Saddam Hussein, the construction of the airport began in November 2003, and it was inaugurated by former Iraqi president Jalal Talabani in July 2005. International flights were shut down from 29 September 2017 following a decision taken by the Iraq Civil Aviation Authority (ICAA), but the airport remained open for domestic and humanitarian flights.[6] The international flights ban was lifted in March 2018.[7] It is operated by the Iraqi Government since 2017.
The airport has facilities for both cargo and passengers. Sulaymaniyah International Airport has threeterminals; for departures, arrivals andVIPs.
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| AJet | Istanbul–Sabiha Gökçen (begins 2 December 2025)[8] |
| Condor | Düsseldorf (resumes 16 December 2025)[9] |
| flydubai | Dubai–International[10] |
| Iraqi Airways | Baghdad,Basra,Beirut,Cairo,Dubai–International,Tehran–Imam Khomeini |
| Mahan Air | Tehran–Imam Khomeini[11] |
| Qatar Airways | Doha |
| Royal Jordanian | Amman–Queen Alia |
| Turkish Airlines | Istanbul[12] |
As of 2022, Sulaymaniyah International Airport is the fifth-busiest airport in Iraq by total passenger traffic, behind the airports inBaghdad,Najaf,Erbil andBasra.
| Year | Passengers | Cargo | Aircraft operations | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | %YoY | Tons | %YoY | Movements | %YoY | |
| 2015 | 574,645 | N.D. | N.D. | N.D. | 6,999 | N.D. |
| 2016 | 525,993 |  8.5% | 198.4 | N.D. | N.D. | N.D. |
| 2017 | 485,156 | 7.8% | 38.5 | 80.6% | 7,550 | N.D. |
| 2018 | 309,869 | 36.1% | N.D. | N.D. | 5,392 | 28.6% |
| 2019 | 474,919 |  53.3% | 13,567.8 | N.D. | 7,500 | 39.1% |
| 2020 | 124,223 | 73.8% | 10,489.0 | 22.7% | 2,495 | 66.7% |
| 2021 | 277,541 | 123.4% | N.D. | N.D. | 4,257 | 70.6% |
| 2022 | 428,609 | 54.4% | 3,857.5 | N.D. | 5,513 | 29.5% |
Source:COSIT. Air Transport Activity Statistics, years 2015,[13] 2016,[14] 2017,[15] 2018,[16] 2019,[17] 2020,[18] 2021[19] and 2022.[20]
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